Jan. 27, 1785 - The Georgia General Assembly incorporated
the University of Georgia, the first state-funded institution of higher
learning in the new republic.

Jan. 27, 1814 – During the Creek War, Capt. Samuel Butts was
killed at the Battle of Calebee Creek in Macon County, Ala., 50 miles west of
Fort Mitchell. Buttsville, Ala. (present day Greenville) was later named in his
honor.

Jan. 27, 1825 – The U.S. Congress approved the “Indian
Territory” (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced
relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears".

Jan. 27, 1832 – English author Lewis Carroll was born in
Daresbury, Cheshire, England. His most famous writings are “Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland” and its sequel “Through the Looking-Glass.”

Jan. 27, 1834 – Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, who created the Periodic
Table of Elements, was born in Tobolsk, Siberia.

Jan. 27, 1840 - The Alabama legislature passed a joint
resolution accepting the disputed boundary line with Georgia. In recognizing
the line marked by a Georgia commission in 1826, the legislature stated that “a
fixed and known line between this State and Georgia, is of far higher
consequence to us, than the acquisition of an inconsiderable portion of
territory.”

Jan. 27, 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued
General War Order No. 1, which ordered all Union land and sea forces to advance
on Feb. 22, 1862. This bold move sent a message to his commanders that the
president was tired of excuses and delays in seizing the offensive against
Confederate forces.

Jan. 27, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Bloomfield,
Mo.; Germantown, Tenn.; and in the vicinity of Suffolk, Va. Five Federal naval
vessels attacked Ft. McAllister, at Genesis Point, on the Ogeechee River, south
of Savannah, Ga. A two-day Federal reconnaissance took place along the Neuse,
Dover, and Trent Roads, N.C.

Jan. 27, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought on the Cumberland
River at Lebanon, Ky.; at Kelley’s Ford and McNutt’s Bridge, in the vicinity of
Dandridge, Tenn. and along the Strawberry Plains Road, near Knoxville, Tenn.; and
at Thoroughfare Mountain, Va. A 12-day Federal operation took place in
Hampshire and Hardy Counties, West Virginia.

Jan. 27, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at
Elrod's Tan Yard in De Kalb County, Ala. and a skirmish was also fought at
Ennis Cross Roads, S.C. A Federal operation also took place between Fort Pinney
about the Federal gunboat, Number 28, to Kimball’s Plantation, Ark. Federals also
refloated the Confederate torpedo Boat, Scorpion, on the James River below
Richmond, Va.

Jan. 27, 1865 - General Robert E. Lee wrote a letter to Richmond. In it he
pointed out that absenteeism, and frequently outright desertion, from his Army
of Northern Virginia was reaching critical proportions. While it was hardly
unknown on either side for men to go absent with or without leave to deal with
family emergencies, the problem now was that they were neglecting to come back.
Lee stated “the ration is too small for men who have to undergo so much
exposure and labor as ours,” and suggested the Commissary Department be
encouraged to provide more and better food.

Jan. 27, 1888 - The National Geographic Society was founded
in Washington, D.C. for "the increase and diffusion of geographical
knowledge." Nine months after its inception, the Society published its
first issue of National Geographic magazine.

Jan. 27, 1901 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Rooney was
born in Coulterville, Pa.

Jan. 27, 1905 – O.L. Peckham, a truck farmer who had moved
to Evergreen, Ala. from Missouri, was found dead shortly after noon near where
he was building a home in front of D.G. Rutland’s house in Evergreen. Rutland
discovered Peckham’s body leaning against a tree and moved the body to his
house. The ensuing investigation revealed that Peckham had apparently committed
suicide by drinking carbolic acid, which he’d purchased from an Evergreen drug
store on Jan. 21. Investigators found the empty bottle and a dipper by
Peckham’s side. He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery on Jan. 28 at 10 a.m.

Jan. 27, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Prof.
C.C. Smith of Healing Springs had been elected superintendent of the Orphans
Home in Evergreen, Ala., succeeding M.C. Reynolds, who had resigned to move to
Birmingham. Smith was expected to reach Evergreen the following week with his
family.

Jan. 27, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Charles
Savage Jr. was “painfully injured several days ago by being caught in some part
of the machinery at the oil mill.”

Jan. 27, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that the tax
assessor’s books showed a “multiplicity of dogs” in Conecuh County, Ala.

Jan. 27, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that Emmitt Lee
Stallworth, the son of Dr. Stallworth, had been chosen to represent the
Evergreen Baptist Church at the Sunday School Convention in Selma, Ala. The
Evegreen Methodist Church was to be represented at the convention by Bryan
Northcutt, the son of W.B. Northcutt.

Jan. 27, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that Walter S.
Harper, a “gifted member of the staff of” The Montgomery Advertiser, had spent
several days in Monroe County, Ala. that week, “visiting various towns and
communities in the collection of data for the adequate representation of Monroe
County’s resources in the forthcoming ‘All-Alabama’ edition of The Advertiser.”

Jan. 27, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that railroad
contractor J.T. McCarthy was in Monroeville, Ala. for a few days that week.
McCarthy “will probably keep his construction outfit in the county until the
work of putting the Deep Water road bed in apple pie shape for regular train
service is completed.”

Jan. 27, 1927 - United Independent Broadcasters Inc. started
a radio network with contracts with 16 stations. The company later became
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).

Jan. 27, 1944 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Staff
Sgt. Meldon R. Holland, 26, of Castleberry, Ala. had been awarded the Purple
Heart. Holland, a mechanic, was injured by shrapnel in the spring of 1943
during a Japanese bombing raid in New Guinea.

Jan. 27, 1945 – During World War II, the Red Army liberated
the remaining inmates of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp built by the
Nazi Germans on the territory of Poland.

Jan. 27, 1949 – Evergreen, Ala. Postmaster Mary Cunningham
announced that the Evergreen Post Office would be painted inside and out in the
“very near future.” The Evergreen Post Office was one of the few in the state
to be approved for this type of work.

Jan. 27, 1967 - Paige Cothren became the first player to
sign with the New Orleans Saints.

Jan. 27, 1967 - Specialist Four Donald W. Evans, a 23-year-old medic from
Covina, California, was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for action on this
day in the Kontum Province. Evans’ platoon had not yet been committed to the
battle near the hamlet of Tri Tam when firing broke out in an adjacent unit.
Without hesitation, Evans charged forward through 100 yards of open ground to
reach six wounded soldiers. With total disregard for his own safety, he moved
among the soldiers, treating the men and carrying two of the more seriously
wounded back to his platoon. Grenade fragments hit Evans, but he ignored his
wounds to rejoin his unit as it entered the battle. Twice more he carried the
wounded out of the line of fire. He was running toward another man when he was
killed by enemy fire. His devotion to duty and uncommon valor won him the
nation’s highest award for bravery.

Jan. 27, 1968 – The Minerve, a French submarine, disappeared
in the Mediterranean, never to be found.

Jan. 27, 1973 - The United States, South Vietnam, Viet Cong
and North Vietnam formally signed “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring
Peace in Vietnam” in Paris. Due to South Vietnam’s unwillingness to recognize
the Viet Cong’s Provisional Revolutionary Government, all references to it were
confined to a two-party version of the document signed by North Vietnam and the
United States—the South Vietnamese were presented with a separate document that
did not make reference to the Viet Cong government. This was part of Saigon’s
long-time refusal to recognize the Viet Cong as a legitimate participant in the
discussions to end the war. The settlement included a cease-fire throughout
Vietnam. It addition, the United States agreed to the withdrawal of all U.S.
troops and advisors (totalling about 23,700) and the dismantling of all U.S.
bases within 60 days. In return, the North Vietnamese agreed to release all
U.S. and other prisoners of war. Both sides agreed to the withdrawal of all
foreign troops from Laos and Cambodia and the prohibition of bases in and troop
movements through these countries. It was agreed that the DMZ at the 17th
Parallel would remain a provisional dividing line, with eventual reunification
of the country “through peaceful means.” An international control commission
would be established made up of Canadians, Hungarians, Poles, and Indonesians,
with 1,160 inspectors to supervise the agreement. According to the agreement,
South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu would continue in office pending
elections. Agreeing to “the South Vietnamese People’s right to
self-determination,” the North Vietnamese said they would not initiate military
movement across the DMZ and that there would be no use of force to reunify the
country.

Jan. 27, 1973 - The last U.S. serviceman to die in combat in Vietnam, Lt.
Col. William B. Nolde, was killed by an artillery shell at An Loc, 60 miles
northwest of Saigon, only 11 hours before the truce went into effect.

Jan. 27, 1994 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the
Conecuh County (Ala.) Commission had approved the recommendation of the Conecuh
County Emergency Medical Services, Inc., and had chosen City Ambulance, Inc. as
the contract holder for Conecuh County.

Jan. 27, 2001 – According to this day’s edition of the
Agence France Presse, an airport in southern Siberia was closed down for 90
minutes when a UFO hovered above its runway, preventing conventional aircraft
from flying. The crew of an I1-76 cargo aircraft refused too take off when they
sighted a large glowing object hovering above the runway of Siberia’s Barnaul
airport, and the crew of another cargo plane refused to land when they spotted
the same luminescent UFO above the runway, choosing to take their jet to
another airport. After the mysterious object had performed whatever unknown
mission constituted its unknown agenda, it left the airport and disappeared.

Jan. 27, 2003 – The first selections for the National
Recording Registry were announced by the Library of Congress.

Jan. 27, 2010 – Author J.D. Salinger passed away at his home
in New Hampshire at the age of 91.

Jan. 27, 2015 – Around 6 p.m. in Birmingham in Jefferson
County, Ala., a UFO witness was driving home from the grocery store when he saw
an “object hovering in the distance, blinking and changing colors.” He pulled
over and attempted to film the object without success.